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JUDY GEROWITZ
AN ADDRESS AT POMONA COLEGE
MAY 1969

I want to talk to you a little bit about me, and about some of the things I'm trying to do; then you can ask me questions. O.K.?

Well, first of all the way I was brought up, I was brought up with the idea that I could do what I wanted. At the time I didn't understand that that was a fairly radical way of bringing a kid up, especially a girl; but as I become an adult, I've discovered that's pretty far out. Because I didn't really understand that I was going to encounter any kind of problems until I first got into college. Now, there were problems that I encountered when I was growing up, but I didn't understand that they had anything to do with the fact that I was a girl; I just didn't think in those terms. And until I was in college, I'm sure a lot of girls understand this-- until I was in college, I never encountered anyone saying anything to me overtly about the fact I couldn't do something, or my ideas weren't valid, or my thoughts weren't important, because somehow or other I was born with a cunt. It never, I mean, I just...it never penetrated my consciousness until once I was arguing with some guy about Hamlet; and he proceeded to tell me that my ideas about Hamlet were obviously wrong, not because they were incorrect, but because I was a girl and obviously didn't know what I was talking about. I was shocked; I mean shocked. I didn't even know how to cope with it at the time. I got outraged. But I still, like, those things started to happen to me, you know, but I still, it still didn't really affect me, I still didn't really understand... cause I still had all those years behind me of being able to do what I want, that kind of orientation.

Then, I must have been, I must have been about twenty and the first time I got used sexually. I was, I just got irate; I couldn't believe it. I mean, I just couldn't believe it. I was, I mean, the idea of me being used like that just like I was some turd on the ground, I just couldn't